Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia nervosa, or simply bulimia as it is commonly referred to is an eating disorder caused by a combination of psychological and natural factors. It is one of the most widely spread eating disorders of today and if left untreated, after a period of time it can become extremely dangerous to one's health, in severe cases leading to death. Let's take a look at what bulimia nervosa is all about, how it can be treated and how we can avoid falling in its traps.

First of all, let's explain the eating disorder in detail. Bulimia is a psychological condition that manifests itself through abrupt eating habits such as constant overeating, followed by intentional purging. At times, a person suffering from bulimia will feel a constant and uncontrollable need for excessive eating, a factor which is usually linked to another eating disorder, namely binge eating.

After these episodes of binge eating, or even after normal meals, the individual performs intentional purging through one of the following methods: vomiting, laxatives, enemas, fasting or diuretics. All these methods, used on their own or combined, are extremely damaging for our health if constantly applied. Intentional purging through vomiting for example will build up acid levels in the stomach and esophagus, causing derangements of the digestive system and also localized damage to its organs.

A lot of people suffer from milder forms of bulimia, the causes for the eating disorder being psychological and social in nature. Modern society and urban culture produced a standardized image for our bodies, which we all tend to work up for, but some take this goal to an extreme level. This psychological addiction to "get fit" is the main cause for bulimia and a lot of people tend to overlook the fact that the eating disorder's practices are more damaging to our interior than they are beneficial to our exterior.

Usually, in order to be diagnosed with bulimia you have to meet a set of six criteria, which are the following:

1. A patient feels an uncontrollable need to eat and he consumes larger amounts of food than he would need at a meal.

2. The patient uses intentional purging methods such as the ones described above (vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, enemas and so forth)

3. The patient is psychologically fixed on attaining a "perfect" body image and has a constant preoccupation to remaining thin

4. The patient does not suffer from anorexia nervosa (the two eating disorders can coexist however)

5. The patient is of normal weight or overweigh.

6. The patient has urges to binge, overeat and intentionally purge the food at least twice per week for at least four months.

As an example on how damaging bulimia can become to our bodies, here's a short list of the conditions and consequences it can produce:

-- causes malnutrition

-- causes dehydration

-- hinders the body from obtaining the required amount of vitamins and minerals from food

-- causes teeth erosion, increases the amount of cavities and may cause gum diseases

-- may encourage the growth of peptic ulcers and cause pancreatitis

-- swelling of the face (due to vomiting)

-- muscle atrophy

-- hypertension

-- hormonal imbalance

-- and many more. As you can clearly see, bulimia is not something to play with. If you think you're suffering from this eating disorder or if you know someone that does, take into consideration that the sooner you start the treatment, the easier it will be to cure the disorder.

About the Author:
Mike Serovey is the owner and webmaster for http://www.mikeserovey.net where you can submit your articles for free.